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For the next month, Konoha was a beehive of activity.
First, there was the matter of Miyuki Uzumaki. No one knew where she'd gone, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had to maintain appearances. He dispatched a steady stream of shinobi from the village on a very public manhunt.
Hiruzen had a lot of face to save.
Then came the compensation for the casualties and damage from the Nine-Tails' rampage. Payouts for families. Rebuilding homes. It all cost money.
And money was getting tight. Especially after the massive, expensive project of relocating the entire Uchiha clan to the village outskirts—a move designed to isolate and surround them under the watchful eyes of other clans.
With so many ninja out chasing Miyuki, missions piled up. Hiruzen even had to pull some ANBU off their normal duties to handle D-ranks and C-ranks, just to keep the mission desk running and the funds flowing.
The money problem kept him up at night. It made him remember the Leaf Village Defense Force. Back when Qianyu ran it.
Back then, the coffers swelled. Tens of thousands of ryo a day. Sometimes hundreds of thousands. All squeezed from the deep pockets of the Uchiha clan.
The Uchiha had money. A lot of money. The thought took root in Hiruzen's mind.
He summoned Danzō.
Hiruzen, of course, didn't say he wanted to pluck the Uchiha clan like a chicken. He was far more circumspect.
"The village is in economic difficulty," he began, steepling his fingers. "Minor public disturbances have become frequent. Our manpower is stretched thin. The Defense Force is overwhelmed." He looked Danzō in the eye. "I want you to assign some of your Root operatives to the Defense Force. Have them enforce the law… strictly. As it was at the beginning. These disturbances must cease."
Danzō knew Hiruzen too well. He heard the words left unsaid.
Translation: The village is broke. Take over the Defense Force. Milk it for money the same way it was milked before.
A slow, sharp smile crept onto Danzō's face.
After a string of bad news, finally, a good one.
The Leaf Village Defense Force would soon be his personal pocket army.
He'd coveted control of it for so long. Qianyu's sudden departure to Ryūchi Cave, their falling out, the boy's premature resignation to Hiruzen and Minato Namikaze… it had all denied him the prize.
Better late than never. The authority the Defense Force wielded was still immensely useful to him.
And that phrase… "as it was at the beginning." When Qianyu first took command, his primary target had been the Uchiha. Arrests. Fines. Bail money.
It seemed Hiruzen's thoughts had finally aligned with his own on the Uchiha question.
"Understood," Danzō said, his voice smooth. "I will see it done."
But fleecing the Uchiha was a stopgap at best. Hiruzen began inviting leaders from minor villages in the surrounding regions, negotiating trade agreements, squeezing every possible ryo into Konoha's treasury.
Money solved problems. Lack of it created them.
Meanwhile, the rumor that Naruto was the fox had spread through the village like wildfire. The foreign spies who had been monitoring Konoha had withdrawn, no longer returning.
Success, Hiruzen thought. They'd bought the lie that there was only one Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
Once the desired effect was achieved, he moved swiftly. A formal decree was issued: anyone caught linking Naruto to the Nine-Tails demon would face severe punishment.
The very next day, he made an example. Nara Shinsuke, the current nominal captain of the Defense Force, arrested a dozen villagers who couldn't keep their mouths shut. The message was clear: the Hokage was not bluffing. The rumors were forcibly silenced.
As for the search for Miyuki Uzumaki? It turned up nothing. She had vanished completely, as if she'd never existed.
Hiruzen began quietly recalling the search parties. He would find her later, once Konoha was stable.
Far from Konoha, in a bustling town in the Land of Birds, Miyuki Uzumaki was learning a new definition of "unreliable."
Over the past month, Qianyu and Kushina Uzumaki had contacted her frequently through their rings, keeping her updated on Naruto's condition. They told her that while Naruto was officially an orphan, he was safe, and they would continue to watch over him. The news had allowed Miyuki to slowly set her mind at ease.
She trailed behind the trio she'd spent the last month getting to know: Yahiko, Pakura, and Raiga Kurosuki.
Yahiko was optimistic, charismatic, a natural leader.
Pakura was cool, aloof at first glance, but fiercely loyal underneath the icy exterior.
Raiga… well, he looked the part of a bloodthirsty killer with those sharp teeth, but he was solid. A bit hot-headed, maybe. But he had your back.
As a team, they'd seemed incredibly competent.
Until they got paid.
Their first stop after collecting the mission reward wasn't an inn for a hot meal. It was the nearest gambling den.
Now, standing outside the seedy establishment, Miyuki watched the trio with a deadpan expression. Their eyes were bloodshot. The reason? The mission reward… was almost gone.
Thirty minutes later, they shuffled out, the very picture of dejection.
"Man," Yahiko groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Just not our lucky day."
"Tch!" Raiga snarled, cracking his knuckles. "Let's just go take it back."
"Don't be pathetic," Pakura said, though her scowl was deep. "We lose, we pay."
Yahiko's stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. "I'm starving. Let's get food."
"With what money?" Raiga shot back. "You blew the last of it on that final hand!"
Pakura's head snapped toward Yahiko. "What? We agreed to keep some for food!"
"Did we?" Yahiko scratched his cheek, his expression shifting to one of dawning horror. "Oh. Right. I said we should 'go for broke.' And then… we went broke."
Pakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "Raiga. On second thought, go get our money back. I'll help."
Miyuki's eye twitched. She saw Raiga actually tense, ready to storm back into the den. "Wait!" she blurted out. "I… I have some money."
Three pairs of eyes instantly locked onto her, gleaming with sudden hope. "How much?" they asked in unison.
"Enough for food," Miyuki said firmly, cutting off any other ideas. "Just for food. No gambling."
She'd learned her lesson this past month. Hand over the funds, and they'd be gone by morning. She'd be hungry, too.
The trio's shoulders slumped in perfect unison, a chorus of disappointed sighs escaping them.
Miyuki felt a vein throb on her forehead. So reliable in a fight… and so utterly hopeless anywhere else?
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